How to Rack Up Airline Miles

Filed Under (Credit Cards) by Ryan Parker on 27-08-2011

It seems as though airlines are doing every little thing they can lately to tack on fees (American Airlines, for example, now charges $8 for a blanket and neck pillow) while simultaneously curtailing service (removing a number of lavatories to make room for more seating). Somewhat paradoxically however, airlines also love to offer incentives for flying with them. The most common among these incentives are of course frequent flier programs, in which points accumulated through travel and other purchases can be applied as airfare discounts and upgrades.

Unfortunately, there’s not much we can do about $8 blankets or the lack of sufficient lavatories. W

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Your Eyeballs Shouldn’t Be So Expensive

Filed Under (Financial News) by Amber Cook on 27-08-2011

As the cliche goes, your health is the most important thing you can have. And as someone who spends a lot of time looking at stuff, eyesight is definitely important to me. I suppose it’s important to you, too. Oh heck, it’s important to all of us. Everyone’s a winner!

I recently lost a bunch of weight- 50 pounds worth to be exact. As a glasses wearer my entire life, I was starting to wonder whether life would be better wearing contacts instead of glasses. Would the ladies throw themselves at me? Would my sexiness continue to make the dudes jealous? There was only one way to find out. A few

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Stupid Money

Filed Under (Financial News) by Amber Cook on 27-08-2011

I’m currently engrossed in Peter Elkind’s entertaining 2010 book Rough Justice: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer. It’s a laugh-filled, fast-paced look at the life of the former New York attorney general and governor, whose swift rise to the top job in Albany was followed by an even swifter slalom out of elected office, after bombshell disclosures the “Luv Gov” had frolicked with ladies of the night.

Though the world of finance is laced through and through this story, one of the book’s particularly catchy references to cash snared my eye and led me to make a mental note — once I’d stopped chortling. The New York City business through which “Client No. 9″ (Spitzer) proc

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Understanding Your Pension Options

Filed Under (Financial News) by Amber Cook on 27-08-2011

When you retire with a defined benefit plan you can choose from a selection of pension options including normal, guaranteed term, single life or joint life pension.  All pensions are paid for your lifetime, and are based on the same actuarial value.  The monthly payments vary because of the differences in the optional features.

Normal pension

A normal pension is the basic pension offered under your plan and is guaranteed for your lifetime.  Typically, plans provide members with a five or ten-year guarantee for your pension.  If you die before the guaranteed term is over, the pension will be paid to your beneficiary for the remainder of the term.  If

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